This invention relates generally to a system and method for managing energy consumption by equipment assets located at a site. More specifically, it relates to a system for tracking, evaluating, and responding to equipment energy consumption information at a site or a set of distributed sites.
Energy consumption is typically a significant and ever increasing operating expense faced by large sites or facilities, such as government, commercial retailers, and industrial facilities (collectively “sites”). Currently, facility managers lack a system or tool to track and manage energy consumption by equipment assets located at a site. Management of energy consumption is even more difficult for an enterprise including multiple facilities or sites distributed throughout a large geographic region. For example, a large retail chain having sites distributed at locations throughout the United States may have hundreds of locations each requiring independent monitoring and evaluation. Located within these hundreds of locations may be tens of thousands of pieces of energy consuming equipment, which contribute to the overall energy consumption profile of its site and of the retail chain enterprise. Each year, enterprises lose profits due to their inability to effectively track energy management.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system or method for tracking or monitoring the use of energy consumption by equipment located at one or more sites. There is a further need for a system for evaluating equipment energy consumption and taking action to reduce an overall energy cost.